Joe Budden is walking back comments he made about Latto after the Atlanta rapper publicly pushed back against suggestions that she may have borrowed from Drake’s style, and that she had help writing her music.
The discussion began after Budden reviewed Latto’s latest album, Big Mama, on an episode of The Joe Budden Podcast. During the conversation, he pointed to “Hostage” which he felt resembled Drake’s cadence and flow, leading some listeners to interpret his remarks as questioning Latto’s pen.
Latto quickly responded online by sharing what appeared to be handwritten lyrics from her song “Hostage” and tagging Budden directly, seemingly offering proof that she wrote the record herself.
The exchange generated enough buzz that Budden revisited the topic during a recent Patreon episode of his podcast, where he clarified his original comments and issued an apology.
“I ain’t tryna be funny. Somebody not writing they shit is a heavy accusation,” Budden said. “So I wasn’t really trying to say that about her.”
The former rapper-turned-podcaster acknowledged Latto’s reputation as a songwriter and pointed out that she has consistently maintained that she writes her own material.
“She’s been on the show, she won the Netflix show, she says she writes all her shit,” he added.
Budden explained that his point was less about ghostwriters and more about musical influence. According to him, artists can naturally absorb the styles of performers they listen to frequently, even when writing their own lyrics.
“There’s also such a thing as listening to somebody so much that they influence you,” he said. “They kinda rub off on you when you write.”
Budden suggested that if Latto is a fan of Drake’s music, it’s possible certain flows or cadences could subconsciously find their way into her songs without anyone else contributing to the writing process.
“She could really listen to Drake 24/7 and love that flow so much that now when she writes that’s what’s happening,” he said.
The podcast host ultimately admitted that his original comments may have been interpreted differently than he intended.
“Latto, I’m sorry,” Budden said. “I wasn’t tryna play with your pen like that. I get how it sounded like that, so my bad.”
The apology comes during a busy stretch for Latto, who recently released Big Mama, her fourth studio album. The project has generated conversation across social media, particularly after listeners dissected lyrics from songs such as “Gimme Dat,” which many, including Bardi herself, connected to her long-running tension with Cardi B.
